How to Set Up an Online Charity Auction

Your supporters need to know what they’re bidding on, when the auction closes, and how they’ll receive what they win. This guide walks through a six-item fundraiser in PHP Pro Bid, with actual screens and examples you can adapt for your own event.

Decide what your fundraiser needs before setting up the auction

For this fundraiser, the plan uses one organizer account, six lots, a seven-day bidding window, local pickup for physical items, and direct booking handovers for experiences. A scheduled Auction Event fits because the lots belong together and can close in a controlled sequence.

Donors do not need seller accounts in this example. They provide accurate item information to the organizer, who creates and manages the listings. Bidders use the website in a mobile browser; a native app is not required. Branded native apps are a separate development service, not part of this browser-based walkthrough.

Choose hosting before creating the event. Cloud and Managed VPS include managed hosting; a Software License requires compatible hosting and technical support. The charity auction software page sets out the plans, costs, and supported workflows.

This guide covers an online silent auction: supporters place bids in their browsers, without an auctioneer calling each bid. If you also need ticketing, raffles, donor CRM, or specific exports, check the platform’s fit before ordering.

Plan backwards from the close. Confirm donated items and choose hosting first. Build and test the listings before sending invitations. Assign opening and closing reminders, payment follow-up, and collection duties. Leave time for this preparation before the seven-day bidding window starts.

Turn donated items into listings people can bid on confidently

Each item, experience, or package offered in the auction is called a lot. A useful charity-auction listing answers three questions: What exactly is included? What restrictions could change its value to the bidder? How will the winner receive it? Ask the donor to confirm these details before publishing the lot.

Give each donated item an internal reference as soon as it arrives. Record who supplied it, who may approve changes, whether the image can be published, and where the item is stored. For an experience, record the person who will honor the booking and the date on which the offer expires. Keep donor contact details in your private intake record. Hold back a lot if an allergen, excluded date, condition issue, or deposit is still unknown.

The starting bid is the lowest opening bid. A reserve is the minimum price required for a sale. If you publish an estimated value, confirm its source with the donor. The planning example uses no reserves; choose them according to your own event’s terms.

Create the event and make the rules visible

In PHP Pro Bid, create the event first, then attach each lot. Set the title and opening and closing schedule. State the time zone, payment choices, and collection or booking terms in the event description. The Create an Event documentation covers the controls, while the Event Lots guide covers the item-level fields.

Keep the same terms in three places: the event description, the relevant lot description, and the message sent to supporters. A published event may be visible before bidding opens, so confirm the displayed status and dates from a signed-out browser. Review the catalog, then use the documented publish and manage process.

Choose starting bids, increments, and closing rules

The planning example proposes £5 increments for lower-priced physical lots and £10 increments for the higher-priced experiences and guitar. The six lots have no reserve, Buy Out, or offer option in this example. Test each chosen setting before opening bidding.

A proxy bid is the maximum a bidder authorizes the system to use on their behalf, not necessarily the current displayed bid. The proxy-bidding documentation explains how automatic bidding works, while the auction-sniping documentation covers late-bid extensions.

Publish the closing rule in ordinary language beside the schedule. For example: “Lots are scheduled to close three minutes apart. A valid bid placed inside the late-bid window may move that lot's closing time.” Test the closing behaviour before using that wording. An extended lot may overlap the next close, so assign enough volunteers to monitor both.

Walk supporters through the bidding flow

A supporter opens the event link, browses the catalog, chooses a lot, signs in or registers, enters a bid, and confirms it. From the lot page they can see the current bid, the next acceptable amount, the closing time, and the rules attached to that item.

1. Browse and choose. Supporters open the event catalog and select the item or experience they want.
2. Read before bidding. The lot page shows the description, collection or booking terms, current bid, and closing time.
3. Place and confirm. The bidder enters an amount or proxy maximum, reviews it, and confirms the bid.
4. Return when needed. If another person bids higher, the supporter can revisit the lot and decide whether to continue within their own limit.

Give supporters the information they need to participate

Share the event link through your supporter email list, newsletters, or community groups. Include the purpose, opening and closing schedule with time zone, registration instruction, payment deadline, pickup or booking terms, and a monitored support contact.

Assign opening and closing reminders to a volunteer. Check which notifications your site sends automatically and schedule your own outreach separately.

Move winning lots through invoice, payment, and handover

After closing, match each sold lot with its winner, invoice, payment status, and collection or booking record. PHP Pro Bid provides invoice records and configurable payment gateways; the organizer confirms the payment and completes the handover.

1. Review the winners. Match every sold lot to its winner and final amount, while separating unsold lots for follow-up.
2. Check the invoice. Match each winning lot and amount to the invoice. If you plan to combine purchases, verify the available invoice workflow on your installation.
3. Confirm payment. Decide who receives the money, who may verify it, and which status allows the item to be released.
4. Arrange the handover. Give the winner the pickup details or connect them with the person responsible for an experience booking.

Confirm payment against the payment provider or bank record you use for the event. Record the reference beside the lot and invoice, then note any refund and the completed handover. This is the reconciliation record your team will use to resolve discrepancies.

Handle unsold items, cancellations, and collection

Before opening, publish your payment and collection deadlines. Assign a volunteer to handle unsold lots, unpaid invoices, refunds, and missed pickups; record the next action in the handover sheet.

Work out the costs before calling the auction a success

PHP Pro Bid charges no percentage of winning bids. Budget for the software plan, payment processing, hosting where applicable, optional setup or customization, refunds, and item fulfillment. The monthly-billing prices are £79 for Cloud and £199 for Managed VPS; the self-hosted License is £399 once.

Keep unpaid bids outside the collected amount. Use the current PHP Pro Bid pricing page for plan terms and the auction software cost calculator to compare the platform costs against your own time frame. Use your payment processor’s actual rate.

Cloud and Managed VPS offer monthly or annual billing. Check the full annual payment on the pricing page before comparing it with a monthly subscription. If you are unsure about event capacity, ask about your setup before choosing a plan.

Keep auction invoices and donation records separate

An auction payment purchases goods or services; it is not automatically treated as a charitable gift. The applicable rules depend on the jurisdiction, the item's value, what the winner paid, and the organization's status. In the UK, review HMRC's charity-auction guidance. In the US, review the IRS guidance for charity auctions.

Treat the software invoice as the auction transaction record. Issue any separate acknowledgment required by your jurisdiction independently, and ask an appropriate adviser to review the process for your real event.

Run this pre-launch check

• Every donor has confirmed the item, condition, restrictions, and fulfillment contact.
• The event page and every invitation show the same dates, time zone, payment deadline, and collection terms.
• All bidder-facing charges and payment methods are visible before a bid is placed.
• A supporter can open the event, understand a lot, register, bid, and find the closing time without organizer help.
• The organizer understands proxy bids, staggered closing, and the chosen late-bid extension rule.
• A test auction has produced the expected winner and invoice; the chosen payment route has been tested and the payment reference matches the invoice before handover.
• Someone owns unsold-item, nonpayment, refund, collection, and experience-booking follow-up.
• The planning and handover worksheets download correctly, and every sold lot has an assigned route from winner to invoice, payment confirmation, and handover.

Keep the planning worksheet with your item records and the handover worksheet with your payment records. Use both during the launch check and update them as each winner pays and collects.

Questions before you launch your charity auction

Operational reference: the item, payment, delivery, and contingency advice also reflects the Chartered Institute of Fundraising's fundraising-auction guidance. Product behavior links point to the PHP Pro Bid v10 documentation.